If you need urgent emotional support, visit Find a Helpline or call, text, or chat with the 988 Lifeline.
If you need urgent emotional support, visit Find a Helpline or call, text, or chat with the 988 Lifeline.
Peyton Heart Project hearts are typically 1.5 to 2 inches (40–50 mm) and have a tag attached to a yarn loop.
The finished loop must be 4 to 5 inches (100–120 mm) not including the tails for the tags to be connected to. Please avoid making larger loops because a child may try to use it as a necklace, which is a strangulation hazard.
Please do not make solid black hearts. Black hearts are sometimes seen as a negative symbol. They can represent grief, sadness and anger. That is why we are trying to keep that color out of the project. We don’t mind if it is in the heart with other colors but as a solid we ask that people not use it.
Please do not make any hearts of angora or mohair. Many people are allergic. (We are, too.)
Please do not use a chain stitch to create the loop. It makes it too bulky to go through the hole in the tags.
Also, please do not make a single stranded loop, as they pull apart too easily.
Make a loop with the 2 ends tied together, like these 5 pictured.
The Tail end of your yarn (where you started from) and the Ball end of your yarn (where you ended with) should BOTH come up through the center of the top of the heart, not from the side or from the bottom.
Please use a knot whose ends come out of the knot parallel to each other, like in a figure-eight knot or an overhand knot (think rabbit ears), because it looks better and holds together better than a knot whose ends go off in opposite directions, like a granny knot or square knot (think cat’s whiskers).
Use a K-size hook and chunky/thick yarn to make the heart 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Make a magic loop … Chain 3, In the loop, 3 triple crochet, 3 double crochet, chain 1, 1 triple crochet, chain 1, 3 double crochet, 3 triple crochet, chain 3. Pull the loop to tighten the center of the heart. Slip stitch in the center of the heart and fasten off, knotting both tail end and working end together at V at the center of the TOP of the heart. Cut both about 5 inches (13 cm). Attach the two ends together with a figure eight knot or overhand knot (not a granny knot or square knot), creating a 4-inch loop to attach the tags to.
Here’s a thought … “If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we just might set the world in the right direction.” Join Kris and Melissa as they demonstrate how they machine-embroider hearts for the Peyton Heart Project.
You don’t have to knit or crochet the hearts. We actually make some of our hearts by wrapping yarn around heart-shaped cardboard. For example, from a cereal box. If you have trouble with the yarn slipping off the rounded edges then you can switch to corrugated cardboard. Here is the simple pattern. Please be sure to leave a 5-inch loop (12 cm) at the top of the heart so a tag can be attached to it. Even if you are not adding tags to the hearts you are sending you must make a tied off loop.
Here is a video showing how to wrap the hearts. It says you can use any color but please don’t use black.
Thank you to Don Lawson and his wife, Terry, for creating this video for the Peyton Heart Project. It shows a way to make hearts for us if you don’t know how to knit or crochet. This would be great for kids, too.
A simple blinking image. An image has 2 frames, a frame rate of .5 seconds, and 3 repetitions. The animation has a duration of (2 * 0.5 * 3) seconds, or exactly 3 seconds, and therefore meets the requirements of the success criterion.
After making your hearts, it’s time to make and attach the tags. Head over to this page for instructions and to download the tags.
